Obduction

Steam on PC
I really, really wanted to like Obduction. It’s made by the creators of Myst which I had played a long time ago as a teenager. It’s beautiful, it’s haunting, and, well, it’s a bit slow, and I just couldn’t get into it. I don’t know if it’s because I don’t have the patience to gut through some of the slower or confusing parts. Maybe I was just excited to try my hand at other games that were on the horizon. But, for whatever reason, I just wasn’t captivated by this game. Maybe, I’ll try to revisit it someday.

Armikrog

Steam on PC
This is a quick, fun, whimsical game. I love the usage of stop motion. Puzzles aren’t particularly challenging, except maybe one or two. The game isn’t very long, but it’s fun.

Stardew Valley

Steam on PC
I’ve never played a game quite like this. I’m told it’s like Harvest Moon. For me, it’s like being in a town in Zelda, but the townspeople are more developed and there’s far more quests. There’s lots of ways to earn money, and lots of things to do like farming, raising livestock, fishing, mining, doing quests, fighting monsters, talking to townspeople, etc. It’s a relaxing, chill game. I was surprised I enjoyed it as much as I did. Impressively it’s made by a single indie developer.

Yoshi's Wooly World

Wii U
This is similar to side scrolling Mario games except Yoshi is the protagonist and the entire world is made of wool! The texture of the game is amazing and unlike anything I’ve ever played. As Yoshi you solve little puzzles, find coins and other treasures by unravelling wool, or spitting out yarn balls. I played this with my wife as a two-player co-op which is fun. You can leverage each other to solve puzzles. However, the two-player mode feels a bit bolted on. There are instances where you get launched off screen (like from a trampoline), and it automatically kills your partner. Some worlds, particularly the bonus world are basically impossible for a co-op to complete because you get in each others’ way too much. But, that shouldn’t dissuade you from playing. Really fun game!

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

Wii U
This is probably one of the best games I ever played. Huge, huge world. Plenty to do. So much breadth, and so much depth. It’s fun, it’s challenging, it’s exciting, it’s funny. It absolutely lives up to the hype. I could go on and on. Honestly, I’m still in the middle of this game, and I could see myself playing it well into 2018 as well.